SoCal – Battle of the Theme Parks

Southern California is jam packed with amusement parks: Disneyland, California Adventure, Six Flags, and Universal. Which park is best for you? Let’s take a look at the thrills, the frills and the fun…

Are you a thrill seeker?

Are you the one that is looking for that rollercoaster rush? The feeling of soaring high above the clouds, plunging fast towards the ground and looping round and round? Then, Six Flags Magic Mountain is most likely the park for you, as it is the park in Southern California with the most coasters. The thrills start with Twisted Colossus, the world’s longest, and most innovative hybrid coaster. It’s wood, it’s steel, with dips, turns, flips and loops. Just when you finish one track, you switch to the other and do it all over again! This is one of the best coasters you’ll ever experience, and you’ll leave wanting more. The park also includes: Full Throttle- the world’s tallest loop on a coaster; Riddler’s Revenge- a stand up coaster with loops, corkscrews and drops; Superman- racing to speeds of 100mph in 7 seconds; and many others. You are sure to get a rush from this park, and will want to keep riding again and again.

See where the movies are made!

Universal Studios Hollywood is an amazing mix of theme park and movie studio. Get up close and see how and where the movies are made. The studio lot tour is amazing, bringing you on the lot where such hits as The Voice, Apollo 13, Jaws, Grease LIVE!, and many more where filmed. The tour also includes filmmaker Peter Jackson’s heart-pounding King Kong 360 3D, the world’s largest 3D experience. The park is known for rides that put you in the center of your favorite films with Minions Mayhem, Transformers 3D, Simpsons the Ride and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter all taking center stage.

Looking for a bit of nostalgia?

The happiest place on Earth and the place filled with nostalgia is of course Disneyland. This is not the most adventurous theme park, but if you are looking for your favorite childhood characters, and that warm and fuzzy feeling; this is the park for you. There are of course some thrills along the way at Disney, especially at California Adventure. You will want to take a ride on the Screamin’ rollercoaster and the recently redone Tower of Terror, that is now the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. Two of the biggest hits at the Disney complex are the Fantasmic show and World of Color. Guests rush to grab up tickets for prime viewing spots as soon as the parks open in the morning, and the shows aren’t until late in the evening. So make a plan of action in advance if you want to get a good view.

After exploring the 3 parks, my favorite experience overall may surprise you. Six Flags Magic Mountain wins hands down. The park gives you more bang for you buck. You will get more thrills and frills and still have cash to go home with. Universal Studios Hollywood is a close second, while the admission to the park is more expensive, it packs a punch for that value. Now I may get some hate mail for this… While I like Disney’s California Adventure, I find Disneyland to be over rated. While it’s full of nostalgia, they pack the guests in so much, that in my opinion, you can’t really enjoy it. I say go to Disneyland once to say you did it. When going back to California for another trip, enjoy the other theme park options.

Quick break down and review by park:

The Money Factor:

Universal: $$

Six Flags: $

Disney: $$$

The Thrill Factor:

Universal: **

Six Flags: ***

Disney: *

Overall Appeal:

Universal: ***

Six Flags: ***

Disney: **

#AbOUTtheGlobe is written by J.Son; a Vegas based travel columnist and event producer. Follow him on Instagram @NakedBoyNews or Twitter @GayTravelGuy